UFC in Vancouver, Will it happen??

[Yume-sama]

Seems every special group has their own "pre-sale" Good to know you can try either the Vancouver Canucks password, or another code, if that doesn't work.

I'm debating buying tickets just because I'm scheduled to be in town. And I'm curious...

[whatnext]

I'm just curious who pays for these UFC guys' self-inflicted medical problems when they're in town. Do BC taxpayers end up picking up the tab?

There’s never been a doubt that mixed martial arts is a violent sport, but the lineup at Vancouver General Hospital’s emergency ward Saturday night was almost as deep with UFC 115 fighters as the pay-per-view event itself.

It was a demonstration of just how rough the world’s fastest growing sport can get at the highest level — even when you win...

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Winne...d+after/3150045/story.html#ixzz0qtlhAecT

[Zassk]

Taxpayers never pay for visitors' bills... the visitor or their insurance pays. I don't see why this would be any different...?

[WarrenC12]

Yep, and the prices they charge ain't cheap.

Kudos to the UFC for making sure these guys all make it to the hospital to get checked out ASAP.

[jlousa]

Wow pretty shocking development and doesn't look positive for the UFC in Vancouver, the current council really seems all over the place on this issue.

VANCOUVER - City council fired the head of the Vancouver Athletic Commission on Thursday after city staff and others complained about his conduct during the recent debate over allowing an Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

Citing a lack of confidence in Mirko Mladenovic, the council appointed Dave Rudberg, a longtime city bureaucrat, to replace him as head of the commission when it reconvenes later this month.

The concerns, outlined for councillors in a binder assembled by the city’s legal staff over a period of months, included allegations he had bullied staff and other commissioners ever since he was appointed interim chairman of the VAC in March.

His removal came under a relatively new and controversial code of conduct the city approved in 2008 that governs not only city staff and politicians, but also appointees to advisory and regulatory bodies.

Mladenovic attended the closed meeting at city hall, where he was asked to account for his behaviour.

He told The Vancouver Sun after the meeting it was not the first time he’d been called before the city over the same allegations.

He said in recent weeks he’d met with city manager Penny Ballem and Dave McLellan, the general manager of community services, with legal staff present, and that he was questioned about his conduct.

Mladenovic said he was known for being outspoken and for fighting for VAC issues. But he said he did nothing wrong and was simply trying to defend the autonomy of the commission. When the city appeared to be inclined to turn down the UFC event, he said he forced the issue by approving it at the next commission meeting.

He said he was aware that staff and others had complained about his conduct, but said that appeared to be an excuse to bounce him from the commission.

“I’ve been on the board for three terms. I am only into this one four months. What has changed? What has changed is they wanted to kill UFC and I approved it,” he said.

City councillors didn’t want to talk about their decision because it took place in secret under a code-of-conduct review. But Ballem said the decision to remove Mladenovic and replace him with Rudberg came as a result of the issues around the UFC event.

She said the city wanted the commission to reflect “robust leadership” and that she expected that would happen under Rudberg’s direction.

Rudberg was until recently the city’s manager of Olympic operations. He is the city’s former chief engineer and assistant city manager. He retired just before the Olympics.

Mladenovic was one of five members appointed to the VAC. He was elected as interim chairman in March, following the resignation of longtime commission member George Angelomatis.

Mladenovic said he was sorry to be off the commission, but blamed city staff for the decision.

“They [council] will take the staff recommendations no matter how horrendous they are. The staff run the city. That’s the way it works here.”

Source: Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/Vancouver+fires+head+athletic+commission/3253333/story.html

[Yume-sama]

So... the event was a success, there were no riots, and no children were harmed or broken. Thus, making council look bad for their hysterical opposition to it?

Yep, guess he needed to be fired.

[EastVanMark]

Vancouver's loss becomes Calgary's gain

Hungry mixed martial arts fans in Alberta will finally have the chance to see a UFC card in Calgary. The UFC and Dana White announced that Calgary, along with Toronto and Montreal, will host UFC cards in 2012. The fight card for UFC 149 has yet to be set but White has promised that it will feature a bout including current featherweight champion Jose Aldo. His opponent, and the rest of the fight card, will develop over time as the UFC prepares for the July 21 event taking place 18 weeks from now in Calgary.

The venue for the event will be the Scotiabank Saddledome, which can accomodate about 20 000 people. Whether the card includes Canadian fighters in the headlining bouts or not, White says that Canadian fans will still eat it up. In a televised press conference today from Calgary's Flames Central, White says that the previous cards in Canada have always brought out plenty of fans and that the important thing to Canadian fans of the UFC is that they get to see a good card.



Enmeshed in red tape, restrictions and bylaws, the UFC will, unfortunately, not be seen at a Vancouver venue for at least the next two years.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Vancouver's loss becomes Calgary's gain - Calgary Extreme Training | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/extreme-training...oss-becomes-calgary-s-gain#ixzz1prxzMD5h

[hollywoodnorth]

what the hell? what happened the last time UFC was here? there was no problems? they should be welcomed back ..... bloody politicians ....

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by hollywoodnorth

what the hell? what happened the last time UFC was here? there was no problems? they should be welcomed back ..... bloody politicians ....

Except for the gay couple who got the crap beaten out of them in front of their condo tower when they asked a couple drunk UFC fans if they would kindly stop pissing in public.

But as far as the event itself went, you're correct. It went off just fine and it should have been welcomed back after a successful trial run.

[touraccuracy]

i got beat up last time there was a big ufc event too so i'm pretty biased, i guess.

buncha tools.

[Echowinds]

I dislike the whole existence of UFC, and I am also against a bunch of their violent drunken fans, but I still think a city should have all sorts of entertainment.

[giallo]

Yeah, a lot of UFC fans are complete tossers. I like the sport, but have strong reservations about the culture that it's created.

[red-paladin]

I also dislike UFC for various reasons, but I'm not sure it needs to be illegal. Then again, it's also city hall's right to regulate such things.

[phesto]

Sorry guys, but some of these comments are just ignorant. UFC is pretty mainstream now and the fanbase in attendance is probably relatively tame compared to the perception of those here who I imagine don't watch or attend events.

Knowing this city I'm sure there have been incidents at previous events and opponents have latched on to those stories to characterize the fans/sport in a negative light. I'm not defending any behaviour here, but you're probably just as likely to get beat up at a Lions game, or on the Skytrain, or at the beach.

I have seen far worse behaviour on a regular basis during and after Canucks games (this season alone, not counting the riot) than I ever saw during or after either UFC event that I attended. Don't even get me started on Lions games...

[giallo]

^ Yeah, that's true, but most of the guys starting the fights at Lions games aren't training/trained in mixed martial arts. More than a few of these Affliction-wearing dickheads that start fights have decent knowledge of how to throw down, but lack discipline. This is were the culture of mixed martial arts takes a turn....at least in BC. Kelowna (a fast-growing center for MMA) can be a pretty dangerous place around the clubs at night these days. Dudes are looking to try out their new techniques after a few pitchers of beer (some I call acquaintances, unfortunately). I've seen it time and time again; people get hurt badly, the aggressors ruin their chances of ever becoming anything in the sport. None of this is the UFC's fault of course-it's just a by-product of idiots that can now fight really well.

There is a video(s)* from the Vancouver Riots where some guys (obviously training in MMA) kick the ever-loving shit out of some people trying to get rioters to stop destroying a tree on Granville. The combo laid on this poor guy is not typical. Tapout and Affliction gear present of course.

This kind of thing doesn't cast the sport in a good light, and it's something the local MMA community needs to take in to account whether the sport has gone mainstream or not.

[logan5]

Originally Posted by phesto

Sorry guys, but some of these comments are just ignorant. UFC is pretty mainstream now and the fanbase in attendance is probably relatively tame compared to the perception of those here who I imagine don't watch or attend events.

I've watched UFC at a certain venue on Commercial Drive and I can tell you the crowd is not the average Joe. Half of them have an aggressive posture to go along with their super serious UFC facial expression, while the other half probably don't even like UFC, but they're there because they think this is what males are suppose to do. This crap is way too primitive for the 21st century.

[jlousa]

Deal with the douches then. MMA isn't the problem it's some of the people that watch it that are. Banning MMA is as ridiculous as some cities that ban pitbulls because they attract the same type of douches. I say this as both a former pitbull owner that was scorned at constantly by other dog owners and also a trained MMA enthusiast that went out and defended the city during the riots.

[giallo]

Originally Posted by logan5

I've watched UFC at a certain venue on Commercial Drive and I can tell you the crowd is not the average Joe. Half of them have an aggressive posture to go along with their super serious UFC facial expression, while the other half probably don't even like UFC, but they're there because they think this is what males are suppose to do. This crap is way too primitive for the 21st century.

MMA isn't primitive. Those guys that make it to the UFC, Pride (RIP) and Strikeforce are top notch athletes; as fit as pro swimmers, and as agile as an Olympic gymnast. The fighters that make it to the top of the league have my utmost respect. The problem, as I mentioned before, is with the culture of the sport. This is something that will hopefully change in time as the sport continues to evolve and mature. Hopefully, public perception of the competitors and the fans will evolve along with it.

I agree that banning it will not solve anything.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by phesto

Sorry guys, but some of these comments are just ignorant. UFC is pretty mainstream now and the fanbase in attendance is probably relatively tame compared to the perception of those here who I imagine don't watch or attend events.

Knowing this city I'm sure there have been incidents at previous events and opponents have latched on to those stories to characterize the fans/sport in a negative light. I'm not defending any behaviour here, but you're probably just as likely to get beat up at a Lions game, or on the Skytrain, or at the beach.

I have seen far worse behaviour on a regular basis during and after Canucks games (this season alone, not counting the riot) than I ever saw during or after either UFC event that I attended. Don't even get me started on Lions games...

Thanks for providing some sanity here. A whole lot of conclusion jumping mixed in with a sprinkling of nimbyism going on here in regards to some peoples views here. If you don't like the UFC or its fans, by all means don't attend the freaking event!

This latest episode is just yet another example of the city's piss poor attitude towards business.

[Prometheus]

Here is video of Dana White answering the question of when the UFC might be returning to Vancouver. From his terse answer, you get a sense of what he thinks about trying to do business in Vancouver and the hypocrisy of city council: http://www.vancouversun.com/videos/sports/video.html?embedCode=p2bmM4NDpQWXR5l7y_UAbiFWvGzydNMV